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Sidle*Fletcher*Holmes 

COMPANY'S 

COOKBOOK 

Proprietors of the Celebrated 

North We^Efn m Zenith fflilfe 

if : 

MlIIEAPOLIS, MlM. 



Dedicated with their Compliments to Housewives 
everywhere. 



1885. 



COPYRIGHTED I88B, 
BY 

H. W. HOLMES. 



PUBLISHED BY ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY 

B. F. BABCOCK, THE d. M. W. JONES 

169 DEARBORN STREET, STATIONERY AND PRINTING COMPANY, 
CHICAGO, CHICAGO. 



PREFACE. 



This Cook Book has been prepared with the greatest 
care ; and the housekeeper can use the recipes herein, 
with the utmost confidence in the result. 

The first and most important requisite for the making 
of good bread and cake, is the employment of good flour 
and other materials, and care in mixing the ingredients. 

Poor flour will make poor bread, in spite of all efforts 
to the contrary ; and on the other hand, poor bread may 
be made out of good flour, if poor yeast is used, if flour 
and dough are not kept warm, or if not properly kneaded 
and baked. 

The Sidle-Fletcher-Holmes Co., manufacture all 
their flour from the best Minnesota and Dakota, 
Hard Wheat, and their Family brands — the GRANU- 
LATED, MINNEHAHA, PERSIAN, CORRUGATED 
and NORTH WESTERN-they confidently claim are the 
best upon the market, the flour being fully equal to, if not 
superior to any in the world. This is a broad claim 
they know full well ; but the results of the most careful 
tests in baking, fully establish their right to make the 
claim. 

This flour makes from 50 to 65 pounds more bread to 
the barrel, than is made from the best winter wheat flour; 
the bread when baked will keep sweet and moist days 
longer and is more nutritious. Try it once ! Do not let 
your grocer argue you out of making the trial, if he does 
not happen to keep it. 



BREAD. 

Stock Teast — Boil three ounces of hops in three quarts 
of water for half an hour. Put a handful of dry sifted flour 
into a stone jar, and scald it with enough of the hop 
water to make a stiff paste, and set aside. Let the 
rest of the hops boil slowly for an hour and a half, 
strain it on the paste without stirring, and set aside to 
cool. When blood-warm, add a small handful of malt, 
mix well ; tie a cotton cloth over it and let it stand 
untouched in a moderately cool place for forty-eight 
hours ; then bottle, and keep in a cool, dark cellar. 

Stock Teast — On Monday morning boil one pint hops 
in two gallons water for half an hour, strain into a crock 
and let it become lukewarm, add two even teaspoons 
salt and half a pint best brown sugar ; mix smoothly half a 
pint of flour with some of the liquor, and stir all well 
together. On Wednesday add three pounds of boiled po- 
tatoes mashed, stir well, and let stand until Thursday, 
then strain and put in jugs, but for the first day or two 
leave the corks loose. Stir the yeast occasionally while 
making and keep near the fire. It should be made two 
weeks before using, and will be improved by age. Keep 
it in a cool place, and shake the jug with the cork out 
before pouring from it, holding the palm of the hand 
over the mouth. 

Potato Yeast — Peel and boil four or five large potatoes, 
mash them fine, add a tablespoon of flour, a pinch each 
of sugar and salt, and when blood-warm add one and a 



6 



half gills of the stock yeast, and let it ferment six hours, 
when it will be ready for use. 

Potato Teast— Take as many hops as can be grasped 
in the hand twice, put half a gallon water over them in a 
clean coffee pot kept for that purpose; boil slowly for one 
hour. Do not tie them in a cloth to boil, as the above 
is a superior method. Pare and grate half a dozen large 
potatoes into a two-gallon stone crock, add a half cup 
of sugar and a tablespoon each of salt and ginger, pour 
over this a half gallon of the boiling hop water, stirring 
all the time. When milk-warm add one cup good lively 
yeast, set in a warm place until it rises, and then remove 
to the cellar or some cool place. The hop water must 
be added to the potatoes immediately : , or they will darken 
and discolor the yeast. To prevent them from darkening, 
the potatoes may be grated into a pan half filled with cold 
water, as they will sink to the bottom; when done grat- 
ing, pour off the water and add the boiling hop water. 
This is a valuable recipe, and the manner of boiling the 
hop water is especially recommended. 

Potato Teast without Hops — Take four good-sized 
potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed ; four tablespoons 
white sugar, one of ginger, one of salt, and two cups of 
flour ; pour over this a pint of boiling water, and beat 
until all the lumps disappear. After it has cooled suf- 
ficiently add to it one cup good yeast, and set away to 
rise ; when it has risen put in a glass or stone jar, cover 
and set it away in a cool place for use. 

Hop Yeast — Boil a large handful of hops in two quarts 
of water for twenty minutes ; strain one-half of it on three 
pints of sifted flour, and when the other half is cool, mix 
slowly with the paste ; stir in half a pint of fresh, strong 



7 



brewers' yeast, or use yeast of a previous making ; bottle 
and cork loosely, and let it ferment until it ceases to 
work; next day cork tightly, and set in a cool cellar. 
Make fresh every week. 

Yeast Cake — Boil half a pound of hops in one gallon 
water until reduced to two quarts; strain it, mix in 
wheat flour enough to make a thin batter, and add half 
a pint of fresh, strong yeast. When fermented, work 
with Indian meal to a stiff dough. Cover and set in a 
warm place to rise. When light, roll into a sheet an 
inch thick, and cut into small cakes, three inches across, 
spread them on a platter, and dry in a cool shade. Turn 
them several times a day, and, when dry, put them in 
paper bags, and set in a closely-covered box, and keep 
cool in a perfectly dry place. Use one cake for four 
quarts of flour. 

To Cool Bread— Bread should be always carefully 
cooled before being put away, especially if kept in a 
tight box or crock, and for this purpose a board should 
be kept — oaken being the best, as it is solid and odor- 
less — cover with a white flannel cloth, and over this 
spread a fresh linen bread cloth. Place the bread upon 
this, crust-side up, and cover with some thin material to 
keep off the flies. Place in a cool, airy place. Bread 
cooled in this manner will have a fine soft crust, and 
remain light and wholesome. 

Hop Teast Bread— Take one quart of warm milk or 
water, one cake of compressed yeast, and flour enough 
to make a stiff batter. Put in a warm place and let it rise 
three hours (if home-made yeast is used, take a small 
teacupful, and make the batter over night), then add 
flour enough to knead without sticking to the board, 



8 



knead one-half hour — thorough kneading makes the 
bread white and light. Set to rise again ; when risen 
sufficiently knead ten minutes without using more flour. 
Mould into small loaves, set to rise, and bake one hour 
in a moderately-heated oven. To insure the best results 
in the use of Spring wheat flour, put it in an open pan in 
a warm place long enough to thoroughly dry before 
using. 

Twice-Raised Bread— Measure out four quarts of sifted 
flour, take out a pint in a cup and place the balance in a 
bread-pan ; make a hole in the heap of flour, into which 
turn one tablespoon of sugar, one of salt and one cup of 
yeast, previously mixed with the pint of flour, then mix 
in one pint of milk which has been made blood warm by 
adding one pint of boiling water ; beat well with a strong 
spoon, add one tablespoon of lard, knead for twenty or 
thirty minutes and let it rise over night ; in the morning 
knead again and make into loaves ; let them rise one 
hour and bake fifty minutes. 

Water may be used instead of the pint of milk, in 
which case use twice as much lard. 

Boston Brown Bread— One pint each of rye or Graham 
and Indian meal, one cup molasses, three-fourths cup 
sour milk, one and a half teaspoons soda, one and a half 
pints cold water ; put on stove over cold water, which 
gradually bring to a boil; steam for four hours and place 
in the oven to brown over. All steam-cooked breads are 
the better for the above method of steaming. 

Boston Brown Bread — Two cups white flour, two of 
Graham flour, one cup Indian meal, one teaspoon soda, 
one cup molasses, three and a half cups milk, a little salt. 
Beat well and steam for five hours. 



9 



Corn Bread (of the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans) — 
Beat two eggs very light; mix with them one pint either 
of sour or buttermilk, and one pint yellow sifted Indian 
meal. Melt one tablespoon of butter with one teaspoon 
of salt and add to the mixture. Dissolve one teaspoon 
soda in a small portion of the milk and add to it the last 
thing. Beat all up very hard and bake in a pan in a brick 
oven for about three-quarters of an hour. 

Corn Bread — One pint corn meal, one-half teaspoon 
soda, one teaspoon cream tartar, one-half teaspoon salt, 
one egg, and milk enough to form a stiff batter. Bake 
in a hot oven. The tins in which you bake should be 
hot and well greased before putting in the batter. 

Corn Bread— One pint corn meal, sifted; one pint wheat 
flour, one pint sour milk, two eggs beaten lightly, half a 
cup sugar, a piece of butter size of an egg; and lastly one 
teaspoon of soda in a little milk ; add to the beaten egg 
the milk and meal alternately, then the butter and sugar. 
If sweet milk is used, add one teaspoon cream-tartar. 
Bake for twenty minutes in a hot oven. 

Steamed Corn Bread— Two cups each of Indian meal, 
Graham flour and sour milk, two-thirds cup of molasses, 
one teaspoon soda. Mix well and steam two hours and 
a half. 

Boston Corn Bread— One cup of sweet milk two of 
sour milk, two-thirds cup of molasses, one of wheat 
flour, four of corn meal and two teaspoons of soda; 
steam for three hours, and brown a few minutes in the 
oven. 

Graham Bread — Use a little over a quart of warm water, 
one half cup brown sugar or molasses, one-fourth cup 
hop yeast, and one and a half teaspoons salt ; thicken 



IO 



the water with unbolted flour to a thin batter; add sugar, 
salt and yeast, and stir in more flour until quite stiff. In 
the morning add a small teaspoon soda, and flour enough 
to make a batter as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon; 
put it into pans, and let rise again; then bake in an even 
hot oven, not too hot at first; keep warm when rising; 
smooth over each loaf with a knife or spoon dipped in 
hot water. 

Rye and Indian Bread — One quart rye meal or rye 
flour, two quarts Indian meal, scalded (by placing in a 
pan and pouring over it just enough boiling water to 
merely wet it, but not enough to make it into a batter, 
stirring constantly with a spoon), one-half cup molasses, 
two teaspoons salt, one of soda, one tea cup yeast; make 
it as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, mixing with 
warm water, and let it rise all night; then put it in a large 
pan, smooth the top with the hand dipped in cold water; 
let it stand a short time, and bake five or six hours. I*" 
put in the oven late in the day, let it remain all night. 

Graham may be used instead of rye, and baked as 
above. 

This is similar to the " Rye and Injun " of our grand- 
mother's days, but that was placed in a kettle, allowed 
to rise, then placed in a covered iron pan upon the 
hearth before the fire, with coals heaped upon the lid, to 
bake all night. 

Rye Bread — Make a sponge of one quart warm water, 
one tea-cup yeast thickened with rye flour; put in a warm 
place to rise over night. Scald one pint corn meal, and 
when cool add it to the sponge. Add rye flour until thick 
enough to knead, but knead it but little ; let it rise, mould 



1 1 



into loaves, place in deep pie-tins or small square pud- 
ding-pans, and bake. 

Rye Bread— Make a sponge as for wheat bread, let it 
rise over night, then mix it up with rye flour (but not so 
stiff as wheat bread), and bake. 

Salt-Raised Bread — The leaven for this bread is thus 
prepared: Take a pint of warm water at about 90 deg. 
(if only a little too hot you will not succeed), put in a per- 
fectly clean bowl, and stir up a thick batter, adding but 
a teaspoon of salt; beat very thoroughly — this is import- 
ant. Set it in a pan of warm water to secure uniformity 
of temperature; and in from two to four hours it will 
begin to rise. The rising is much more sure if coarse 
flour or " shorts " is used instead of fine flour. 

When your " rising " is nearly light enough, take a pint 
of milk and a pint of boiling water (a tablespoon of 
lime water added is good, and frequently prevents sour- 
ing), mix the sponge in the bread-pan, and when cooled 
to about milk warm, stir in the rising. The sponge thus 
made will be light in two to four hours with good 
warmth. The dough requires less kneading than yeast- 
raised dough. 

To ascertain the temperature of the water in preparing 
the rising, place a thermometer in for a minute or so. 

Some object to this bread on account of its odor when 
rising, the result of fermentation, but the more there is 
of this the surer you will be of having a good sweet 
bread when baked. 

Bread Sponge for Winter Use— Peel and boil four or 
five medium-sized potatoes in two quarts of water 
(which will boil down to about one quart by the time the 
potatoes are cooked); when done, take out and press 



12 



through a colander, or mash very fine in the crock in 
which the sponge is made; make a well in the center, 
into which put one cup of flour, and pour over it the 
boiling water from the potatoes ; stir thoroughly, and 
when cool add a pint of tepid water, flour enough to make 
a thin batter, and a cup of yeast. This sponge makes 
very moist bread. 



BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 

Note — Soda, saleratus (or pearlash), cream of tartar 
and baking powders are often adulterated with terra alba 
(white earth). 

' Some baking powders contain alum, and such are to be 
avoided as deleterious. Use only those of known merit, 
such as are manufactured by well known and reputable 
houses. 

Graham Gems — A pint of sour or butter-milk, one tea- 
spoon soda and a little salt; beat all well together and 
add one egg, a tablespoon of molasses, and Graham 
flour sufficient to make a stiff batter ; mix thoroughly. 
Bake in gem-pans well greased and quite hot, in a quick 
oven. 

Graham Gems— Three cups sour milk, one teaspoon 

soda, one of salt, one tablespoon brown sugar, one of 
melted lard, one beaten egg; to the egg add the milk, 
then the sugar and salt, then the Graham flour (with the 
soda mixed in), together with the lard ; make a stiff 
batter so it will drop, not pour, from the spoon. Have 
the gem pans very hot, fill and bake fifteen minutes in a 
hot oven, 



i3 



Wheaten Gems — Mix one teaspoon baking powder and 
a little salt into a pint of flour; add to the beaten yelks 
of. two eggs one cup sweet milk or cream, a piece of 
melted butter half the size of an egg, the flour with 
baking powder and salt mixed, and the well beaten 
whites of the two eggs. Beat w r ell, bake immediately 
in gem pan in a hot oven, take out quickly, and send to 
table immediately. 

Sweet Milk Gems — Beat one egg well, add a pint of 
new milk, a little salt, and Graham flour until it will drop 
off the spoon nicely; heat and butter the gem pans be- 
fore dropping in the dough. Bake in a hot oven twenty 
minutes. 

Indian Gems— Mix quickly a quart of Indian meal with 
sufficient water to make a thick batter; add a teaspoon 
of salt and stir thoroughly. Have ready your gem pans 
well greased and heated. Bake in a quick oven until 
nicely browned on top, and send to table hot. 

Wheat Muffins— Mix one pint milk, two eggs, three 
tablespoons yeast and a saltspoon of salt, with flour 
enough to make a stiff batter; let rise four or five hours 
and bake in muffin rings in a hot oven for about ten 
minutes. 

Graham Muffins— Use Graham instead of wheat flour, 
as above, and add two tablespoons molasses. 

Corn Muffins — One quart sifted Indian meal, a heaping 
teaspoon butter, one quart milk, a saltspoon of salt, a 
third of a cup yeast, a tablespoon of molasses; let it rise 
for four or five hours and bake in muffin rings. 

Puffet— Two eggs, well beaten, two tablespoons sugar, 
a piece of butter the size of an egg ; beat all together 
quite thin ; add one pint sweet milk. When all are well 



14 

mixed, add one quart flour and two tablespoons baking 
powder previously sifted together. Have your pans well 
greased and hot ; bake quickly. Very nice for tea. 

Pop-Overs — Four eggs, four cups flour, four cups milk, 
a small piece of butter, a little salt. Bake in gem-pans 
and serve with sweet sauce. 

Cinnamon Cake— When making yeast bread and the 
sponge is ready to knead, take a sufficient portion and 
roll out three-fourths of an inch thick, put thin slices of 
butter on the top, sprinkle with cinnamon, and then with 
sugar ; let it rise well and bake for breakfast. It is a fine 
coffee cake. 

Biscuit— Dissolve one rounded tablespoon of butter in 
a pint of hot milk ; when lukewarm stir in one quart of 
flour, add one beaten egg, a little salt, and a tea-cup 
yeast ; work the dough until smooth. If in winter set in 
a warm place, if in summer a cool place, to rise. In the 
morning work softly, and roll out a half inch thick, cut 
into biscuit and set to rise for thirty minutes, when they 
will be ready to bake. These are delicious. 

Biscuit— Take one quart sifted flour (loosely put in), 
two heaping teaspoons tartaric acid and one moderately 
heaping teaspoon soda, one teaspoon salt, and three gills 
water ; shape out with a spoon and the floured hand. 

Hard Sugar Biscuit— A pound of butter, two of flour, 
and one of sugar, one tablespoon cinnamon, two of car- 
away seeds, three gills milk, a teaspoon soda. Rub the 
butter into the flour, and mix in the spices ; dissolve the 
soda in the milk, mix with the sugar, and work the whole 
to a stiff dough. Knead it well, roll out halt an inch 
thick, cut into round cakes, prick them with a fork, lay 



15 



into buttered pans, and bake in a quick oven to a light 
brown. 

Soft Sugar Biscuit — Three-fourths pound butter, three 
of flour, one of sugar, one quart bread sponge, milk as 
required. Cream together the butter and sugar, rub in 
the flour, then the sponge, and as much milk as will 
make a soft dough ; knead it well, and set in a pan to 
rise ; commence in the afternoon. Next morning knead 
lightly, make up with the hands into round cakes of the 
size of a silver dollar, and an inch in thickness. Place 
them an inch apart on buttered tins, set to rise in a warm 
place, and bake in a quick oven w T hen light. When done 
brush them over lightly with a little cold water and let 
them cool slowly on the tins. 

Soda Biscuit — Put one quart flour into a sieve, with one 
teaspoon soda and two of cream tartar (or three of good 
baking powder), one of salt, and one tablespoon white 
sugar ; mix all thoroughly with the flour, run through the 
sieve, and rub in one level tablespoon of lard or butter 
(or half and half of each), wet with a half pint sweet 
milk, roll out on board, about an inch thick, cut with a 
biscuit cutter or tumbler, and bake in a quick oven 
fifteen minutes. If you have no milk, use a little more 
butter or lard, and wet with water. Handle as little and 
make as soon as possible. 

South Carolina Biscuit— One quart sweet cream or milk, 
one and a half cups butter or fresh lard, two tablespoons 
white sugar, one good teaspoon salt ; add flour sufficient 
to make a stiff dough, knead well, and mould into neat, 
small biscuit with the hands, as our grandmothers used 
to do ; add one good teaspoon cream tartar if preferred. 
Bake well and you have good sweet biscuit that will 



i6 

keep for weeks in a dry place, and are very nice for 
traveling lunch. 

Parker House Rolls— Two quarts of flour, one pint 
cold boiled milk, half cup yeast, half cup sugar, one 
tablespoon melted butter ; make a well in the heap of 
flour, pour' in all the above and let it rise until morning; 
then knead and let it rise until about three in the after- 
noon ; then roll out, butter them about the edge and 
lap over ;^aise for tea, and bake in a hot oven about 
twenty minutes. 

Yienna Rolls— Have ready in a bowl a tablespoon of 
butter or lard, made soft by warming a little and stir- 
ring with a spoon. Add to one quart of unsifted flour 
two heaping teaspoons of baking powder ; mix and sift 
thoroughly together, and place in a bowl with the but- 
ter. Take sufficient sweet milk to form a dough of the 
usual stiffness, according to the flour, put into the milk 
half a teaspoon of salt and then stir it into the flour, 
etc., with a spoon, forming the dough, which turn out on 
a board and knead sufficiently to make smooth. Roll 
out half an inch thick and cut with a large round cutter ; 
fold each one over to form a half-round, wetting a little 
between the fold's to make them stick together ; place on 
buttered pans, so as not to touch, wash over on top 
with milk to give them a gloss, and bake immediately 
in a hot oven twenty minutes. It will do them no harm 
to stand half an hour before baking, if desired. 

Colfee Rolls — Work into a quart of bread dough a 
rounded tablespoon of butter and half a cup white 
sugar ; add some dried currants (well washed and dried 
in the oven), sift some flour and sugar over them and 



i7 



work into the other ingredients ; make into small rolls, 
dip into melted butter, place in tins, let rise a short 
time and bake. 

Egg Bolls— Two cups sweet milk, two eggs, a little 
salt, three and a half scant cups sifted flour. Bake in 
hot gem pans. 

Long Breakfast Rolls— Three and a half cups sweet 
milk, one cup butter and lard mixed in equal propor- 
tions, one cup potato yeast, flour enough to make a 
dough. Let rise over night; in the morning add one 
beaten egg. Knead thoroughly and let rise again. 
With the hands make into balls as large as a small hen's 
egg then roll between the hands to make long rolls 
(about three inches), place close together in even rows 
in the pans. Let rise until light, and bake delicately. 

Sally Luim-One and one-half pounds of flour, two 
ounces of butter, one pint of new milk, one saltspoon 
salt and three eggs, one tablespoon yeast. Warm the 
milk and butter over water until the butter is melted ; 
beat the eggs in a two-quart tin pail, and if the milk is 
not hot pour it over them. Stir in half the flour, then 
add the yeast, stirring thoroughly with the rest of the 
flour. Let rise over night. Bake a little brown in a 
quick oven. Some add two tablespoons sugar and a 
teaspoon of soda, and two of cream tartar, instead of 
the yeast. 

English Crumpets — One quart warm milk, one tea- 
spoon salt, half cup yeast, and flour enough for a 
stiff batter. When light add half a cup melted butter, 
let stand twenty minutes, and bake in muffin rings or 
cups. 



i8 



Cracknells — To a pint of rich milk put two ounces but- 
ter and a spoon of yeast. Make it warm and mix in 
enough fine wheat flour to make a light dough ; roll 
thin and cut in long pieces two inches broad. Prick 
well and bake in a slow oven. 

Buns — One quart bread sponge, three pounds flour, 
three-fourths pound butter, one of sugar, milk as re- 
quired. Make the sponge in the following manner: 
Into a pint of water stir enough flour to make a smooth 
batter, add three gills yeast, cover and put in a warm 
place to rise ; when very light it is fit for use. In cold 
weather tepid water is required. Cream the butter and 
sugar, rub the flour in by handfulls, work smooth, add 
the sponge and milk to make a soft dough ; knead well, 
and set it to rise over night. The next morning knead 
it lightly and roll into sheets half an inch thick, cut into 
small round cakes, put them into shallow pans well but- 
tered so they touch each other, and set them in a warm 
place to rise. When light, bake in a quick oven. Take 
them out of the pan and wash them over with thin mo- 
lasses and water, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve 
when fresh. 

Bans — Break one egg into a cup and fill with sweet 
milk ; mix with it half a cup of yeast, same of butter, 
one cup of sugar and enough flour to make a soft dough; 
flavor with nutmeg ; let rise until very light, then mould 
into biscuit with a few currants. Let them rise a second 
time in the baking-pan ; bake, and when nearly done, 
glaze with a little molasses and milk. 

London Hot Cross Buns — One and a half pints milk, 
half pint yeast and sufficient flour to make a stiff batter ; 



19 



set this as a sponge over night, and next morning add 
half pound sugar, a quarter pound melted butter, half a 
nutmeg grated fine, one saltspoon salt and flour to make 
up like biscuit ; knead well and set to rise for five hours; 
roll half an inch thick, cut into round cakes and lay in a 
buttered pan After about half an hour make a cross 
with a knife upon each and set at once in the oven ; bake 
a light brown ; while yet warm brush them over with the 
white of an egg beaten with powdered sugar quite stiff. 

Rusk — Three pounds flour, half pound of butter, same 
of sugar, two eggs, a pint and a half of milk, two table- 
spoons rose water, three do. of strong yeast. Sift the sugar 
into a large pan, and rub it into the butter and sugar ; 
beat the eggs very light and stir into the milk, adding 
the rose water and yeast. Make a hole in the dough, 
pour in the mixture, and slowly mix it to a thick batter ; 
cover and set by the fire to rise. When light, knead it 
welly cut into small cakes and knead each separately, 
lay them near to each other, but not touching, in shallow 
pans well dusted with flour ; prick each one with a fork, 
and set in a warm place to rise again. When quite light 
bake in a moderate oven. They should be eaten the 
same day. 

Rusk — Two cups raised dough, one of sugar, half cup 
butter, two well-beaten eggs, flour enough to make a 
stiff dough ; set to rise, and when light, mould into high 
biscuit, and let rise again ; sift sugar and cinnamon over 
the top and place in oven. 

Lebanon Rusk — One cup mashed potatoes, one of 
sugar, one of home-made yeast, three eggs ; mix together; 
when raised light add half a cup butter or lard, and flour 
enough to make a soft dough ; when light mould into 



20 



small cakes, and let them rise again before baking. If 
wanted for tea, set about 9 a. m. 

Johnny Cakes— Scald a quart Indian meal, with water 
enough to make a very thick batter ; add two or three 
teaspoons salt ; mould into small cakes with the hands 
well floured ; fry them in nearly sufficient fat to cover 
them. When brown on the under side turn them, cook- 
ing them about twenty minutes. When done, split and 
butter them. 

Johnny Cake— Two-thirds teaspoon soda, three table- 
spoons sugar, one teaspoon cream tartar, one egg, one 
cup sweet milk, six tablespoons Indian meal, three 
tablespoons flour, and a little salt. This makes a thin 
batter. 

New England Johnny Cake— Take one pint of fine corn 
meal, and pour over it enough boiling water to wet it all 
through ; add about a teaspoon salt ; then pour in milk 
until the mixture will drop easily from the spoon ; x beat 
it well ; fry on a griddle about three-quarters of an hour, 
turning them when nicely browned on one side. 

Alabama Johnny Cake— Cook a pint of rice until tender, 
add a tablespoon butter; when cold add two beaten 
eggs and one pint corn meal, and when mixed spread on 
an oaken board and bake by tipping the board before 
the fire-place. When done on one side turn over. The 
dough should be spread half an inch thick. 

Corn Dodgers— To one quart corn meal add a little salt 
and a small tablespoon lard ; scald with boiling water 
and beat hard for a few minutes ; drop in large spoons- 
ful in a well-greased pan. The batter should be thick 
enough to just flatten on the bottom, leaving them quite 
high on the center. Bake in a hot oven. 



21 



French Crackers— One and a half pounds each of flour 
and sugar, three-quarters of a pound of butter, the whites 
of five eggs ; before baking wash over with egg and dip 
in sugar. 

Egg Crackers — Six eggs, twelve tablespoons sweet 
milk, six tablespoons butter, half teaspoon soda ; mould 
with flour half an hour and roll thin. 
- Economical Toast — Add to one half pint of sweet milk 
two tablespoons sugar, a little salt, and a well-beaten 
egg ; dip into this slices of bread (if dry, let it soak a 
little), and fry on a buttered griddle until a light brown 
on each side. Dry bread may thus be well used. 

Excellent Toast — Cut slices of a uniform thickness of 
half an inch ; move around over a brisk fire, to have all 
parts uniformly toasted ; hold only so near the coals that 
the pieces will be heated through when both sides are 
properly browned. A light wire grid-iron will be found 
very convenient and enable you to toast several slices at 
once. If the smallest part of either of the slices are 
blackened or charred, carefully scrape it ofT, or it will 
flavor the whole. If covered with an earthen bowl it 
will keep moist and warm, or a clean towel or napkin 
will answer if it is to be immediately served. Stale 
bread may be used for milk-toast, but sweet, light bread, 
about a day old, is the best for dry-toast. 

Corn-Meal Mush — Put four quarts fresh water in a kettle 
to boil, salt to suit the taste ; when it begins # to boil stir 
in one and a half quarts meal, letting it sift through the 
fingers slowly to prevent lumps, adding it a little faster 
at the last, until as thick as can be conveniently stirred 
with one hand ; set in the oven in the kettle (or take out 
into a pan), bake an hour, and it will be thoroughly 



22 



cooked. It takes corn meal so long to cook thoroughly 
that it is very difficult to boil it until done without burn- 
ing. The thorough cooking and baking in oven after- 
wards, takes away all the raw taste of the meal that is 
so generally found in mush prepared in the ordinary 
way, and adds much to its sweetness and delicious flavor. 

A hard wooden paddle, two feet long, with a blade 
two inches wide and seven long, will be found a most 
convenient instrument to stir with. 

Graham Mush — Sift Graham meal slowly into boiling 
salted water, stirring briskly until thick as can be stirred 
with one hand ; serve with milk or cream and sugar, or 
butter and syrup. It will be improved by removing from 
the kettle to a pan, as soon as thoroughly mixed, and 
steaming three or four hours. It may also be eaten cold, 
or sliced and fried, like corn-meal mush. 

Oat-Meal Mush— To two quarts boiling water, well 
salted, add one and a half cups best oat meal ; stir the 
meal in by degrees, and after stirring up a few times to 
prevent its settling down in a mass at the bottom, leave 
it to cool three hours without stirring. While stirring 
in, put the inner kettle directly on the stove. (All 
mushes and preparations of like description should be 
cooked in a custard kettle, or water bath, like a carpen- 
ter's glue-pot.) To cook for breakfast it may be put 
on over nigjit, allowing it to boil an hour or two in the 
evening, but it is better freshly cooked. Serve 
with cream and sugar. To be wholesome it must be 
well cooked, slowly, but for a considerable time. In 
lieu of a custard kettle the mush may be made in a pan 
or small tin bucket, and then placed in a steamer and 
steamed two hours. 



23 



This is unsurpassed as a breakfast dish, and especially 
good for young- children, who need bone and muscle- 
producing food. 

Steamed Oat Meal. — To one teacup oat meal add a 
quart cold water, a teaspoon salt ; put in a steamer over 
a kettle of cold water, gradually heat and steam an hour 
and a half after it begins to cook. 

Cracked Wheat.— Two quarts salted water to two tea- 
cups best cracked wheat ; boil two or three hours in a cus- 
tard kettle; or, soak over night and boil at least three- 
fourths of an hour ; or, put boiling water in a pan or 
small bucket, set on the stove, stir in the cracked wheat, 
set in a steamer and steam four hours ; or, make a strong 
sack of thick muslin or drilling, moisten the wheat with 
cold water, add a little salt, place in sack, leaving half 
the space for wheat to swell in ; fit a round sheet of tin, 
perforated with holes half an inch in diameter, to the 
inside of ordinary kettle, so that it will rest two or three 
inches from the bottom ; lay the sack on the tin, put in 
water enough to reach the tin, and boil from three to 
four hours, supplying water as it evaporates. Serve 
with butter and syrup or cream and sugar. When cold 
it is fine when sliced and fried ; or, warm it with a little 
milk and salt, in a pan greased with a little butter ; or, 
make into griddle cakes with 'a batter of eggs, milk and 
a little flour and a pinch of salt. 

Fine Hominy or Grits, — Take two cups hominy or 
wheaten grits to two quarts salted water, soak over night, 
and boil three-quarters of an hour in a custard kettle. 
Serve with milk and sugar ; or, when cold, slice and fry. 



24 



GRIDDLE OR BATTER CAKES. 

Waffles — Take one quart flour, two teaspoons good 
baking powder, one of salt, one of sugar, all sifted 
together ; add a tablespoon of butter, two eggs, and a 
pint and a half of sweet milk ; cook in waffle irons well 
heated and greased. 

Waffles — One pint flour, one of sweet milk, three eggs 
well beaten, a piece of butter the size of an egg and a 
half, a little salt, one heaping teaspoon cream-tartar, half 
teaspoon soda; melt the butter and stir in flour, milk 
and eggs. Sift the cream-tartar and soda through a fine 
sieve the last thing. 

Waffles — Take one quart flour, a teaspoon salt, a table- 
spoon melted butter, and milk sufficient to make a thick 
batter ; mix thoroughly ; a dd two well-beaten eggs, two 
heaping teaspoons tartaric acid, and one moderately 
heaping teaspoon soda ; stir well together and bake at 
once in waffle-irons. 

(Juick Waffles — Two pints milk, one cup melted but- 
ter, and sifted flour to make a soft'batter ; add the well- 
beaten yelks of six eggs, then the beaten whites, and 
lastly (just before baking), four teaspoons baking pow- 
der ; beat very hard and fast for a few minutes. Are 
very good with but four or five eggs, but much better 
with more. 

Raised Waffles — One quart flour, one pint sweet luke- 
warm milk, two eggs, a tablespoon melted butter, a 
teaspoon salt and half a cup good yeast. Bake in waffle- 
irons well heated and greased. 

Rice Waffles— Boil half a pint of,, rice and let it get 
cold, mix with it a quarter pound of butter, and a little 



25 



salt ; sift in it one and a half pints flour ; beat five eggs 
separately ; stir the yelks together with one quart milk, 
add the whites beaten to a stiff froth, beat hard, and 
bake at once in waffle-irons. 

Massasoit House Waffle— Mix a batter with milk the 
thickness of buckwheat batter ; raise the paste with com- 
pressed yeast; add three eggs and three spoonfuls of 
melted butter, and mix thoroughly. Should the batter 
become sour add a little soda. 

Buckwheat Cakes — Use only buckwheat flour perfectly 
clear of grits and free from adulteration with rye or 
corn ; warm one pint sweet milk and one pint water — or 
one may be cold and the other boiling— put half of this 
into a stone crock, add five teacups buckwheat flour, 
beat well until smooth, add the rest of the milk and 
water, and lastly a cup of yeast. Or, the same ingredi- 
ents and proportions may be used, except adding two 
tablespoons molasses or sugar, and using one quart 
water instead of one pint each of milk and water. 

Buckwheat Cakes without Teast— Two cups of buck- 
wheat flour, one of wheat flour, a little salt, three tea- 
spoons baking powder ; mix thoroughly, and add about 
equal parts of milk and water until the batter is of the 
right consistency, then stir until free from lumps. If 
they do not brown well add a little molasses. 

Bread Griddle Cakes— One quart milk, boiling hot; 
two cups fine bread crumbs, three eggs, a teaspoon nut- 
meg, one tablespoon melted butter, one-half teaspoon 
salt, one teaspoon soda, dissolved in hot water, break 
the bread into the boiling milk and let stand for ten min- 
utes in a covered bowl, then beat to a smooth paste ; 
add the yelks of the eggs well whipped, the butter, salt, 



26 



soda, and finally the whites of the eggs previously 
whipped stiff. 

Huckleberry Griddle Cakes— Two cups milk, a cup and 
a half molasses, three eggs, one and a half teaspoons 
soda, a little salt, and flour to make a batter. Add the 
berries after the batter is well mixed, and bake like other 
griddle cakes. 

Corn Cakes — One pint corn meal, one of sour milk or 
butter-milk, one egg, one teaspoon soda and one of salt. 
A tablespoon of corn starch may be used instead of the 
egg ; bake on a griddle. 

Batter Cakes — Make a batter of one quart each of 
flour and sour milk, three eggs beaten separately, a^ 
tablespoon of butter and a level teaspoon of soda ; 
pulverize the soda very fine before measuring, and thor- 
oughly mix with the dry flour ; add the whites of eggs 
just before baking on the griddle. May be made with- 
out eggs. 

Flannel Cakes — Heat a pint of sweet milk, and into it 
put two heaping tablespoons butter, let melt, then add a 
pint of cold milk and the well-beaten yelks of four eggs — 
placing the whites in a cool place ; also, a teaspoon 
salt, four tablespoons potato yeast, and sufficient flour to 
make a stiff batter ; set in a warm place to rise, let it 
stand three hours, or over night ; before baking add the 
beaten whites ; bake like any other griddle cakes. Be 
sure to make the batter stiff enough, for flour must not 
be added after it has risen, unless it is allowed to rise 
again. 

Graham Griddle Cakes— One quart Graham flour, one 
teaspoon baking powder, three eggs, and milk or water 
enough to make a thin batter. 



2 7 



Rice Griddle Cakes — Boil half a cup of rice ; when cold, 
mix one quart sweet milk, the yelks of four eggs, and flour 
sufficient to make a stiff batter ; beat the whites to a 
froth, stir in one teaspoon soda and two of cream of tar- 
tar, add a little salt, and lastly the whites of the eggs ; 
bake on a griddle. Serve by spreading them while hot 
with butter, and also any kind of jelly or preserves ; roll 
them up neatly, cut off the ends, sprinkle with sugar, and 
serve quickly. 

Pancakes— Put in an earthern pan four whole eggs, a 
pinch of salt, one of sugar, three spoons of flour ; beat 
with one quart of milk. The preparation must be very 
light. Bake the pancakes in a frying pan, very thickly 
spread with butter/turn them upside down on the table, 
put some currant or other jelly on one side ; roll them; 
put them on a plate ; powder them with sugar, and candy 
with a poker, heated red hot. — Emile Combe, Chef de 
Cuisine^ Hotel Wellington. 

Indian Pancakes — One pint Indian meal, one teaspoon 
salt, a small teaspoon soda; pour on boiling water until 
thinner than mush ; let it stand until cool and add the 
yelks of four eggs, half a cup of flour, in which has been 
mixed two teaspoons cream tartar; stir in as much 
sweet milk or water as will make the batter suitable to 
bake ; beat the whites well and add just before baking. 

French Pancakes— Beat together, until smooth, six 
eggs and a half pound flour, melt four ounces butter, and 
add to the batter, with one ounce of sugar and half pint 
milk ; beat until smooth ; put a tablespoonful at a time 
into a frying-pan, slightly greased, spreading the batter 
evenly over the surface by tipping the pan about ; fry to 



28 



a light brown ; spread with jelly, roll up, dust with pow- 
dered sugar and serve hot. 

Doughnuts — Two cups sour milk, one teaspoon soda, 
two cups sugar, one tablespoon melted butter, three 
eggs and a little salt (cinnamon if desired), flour suffi- 
cient to roll ; fry in hot lard sufficient to float, skim out 
and drain until dry. 

Thomaston Fritters — Three eggs, one and a half cups 
milk, three teaspoons baking powder, and flour enough 
to make thicker than batter cakes ; drop into hot lard 
and fry like doughnuts. 

A Sauce for the Above — One cup sugar, two table- 
spoons butter, one teaspoon flour beaten together, half a 
cup boiling water ; flavor with extract lemon, and boil 
until clear. 

(Jueen Fritters — One pint water, four ounces butter, 
eight ounces flour, ten eggs ; boil the water and butter 
together in a saucepan large enough to beat the mixture 
in ; put in the flour all at once, and stir over the fire till 
well cooked ; let stand till warm, and add the eggs, one 
at a time ; beat well with a spoon against the side of the 
pan ; fry slowly in hot lard, and dust with powdered 
sugar. — Palmer House, Chicago, 

Apple Fritters — Three eggs beaten very light, one 
quart milk ; make a thin batter ; add a little salt and the 
grated rind of one lemon ; pare, core and slice thin one 
quart select tart apples ; add to the batter, and cook by 
dropping in by spoonfuls in boiling lard ; skim out with 
a skimmer and drain. Serve with sauce. 

Apple Fritters— Make a batter in the proportion of one 
cup sweet milk to two cups flour, a heaping teaspoon 
baking powder, two eggs beaten separately, one table- 



2 9 



spoon sugar and a saltspoon of salt ; heat the milk a 
little more than milk-warm ; add it slowly to the beaten 
yelks and sugar, then add flour and whites of the eggs ; 
stir altogether and throw in thin slices of good sour 
apples, dipping the batter up over them ; drop into boil- 
ing hot lard in large spoonfuls with pieces of apple in 
each, and fry to a light brown. Serve with maple syrup, 
or a nice syrup made with clarified sugar. 

Cream Fritters — One and a half pints flour, one pint 
milk, six well beaten eggs, half a grated nutmeg, two 
teaspoons salt and one pint cream. Stir the whole 
together enough to mix the cream ; fry in small cakes. 

Brown Bread — One pint yellow corn meal, one pint 
rye meal, one-half cup flour, all sifted together ; add a 
little salt and one cup molasses ; dissolve a teaspoon of 
soda in half a cup of hot water, and at once fill it with 
cold water; pour it on the mixed flour, etc., adding 
enough tepid water to make all thin ; boil a cup of 
raisins and stir into the bread mixture ; mix all well, and 
it is ready for the baking tins. Use a regular brown 
bread tin with a cover to bake it in; bake seven hours in 
a moderate oven. The bread tin should be deep, round, 
small at the bottom and large at the top, with a tight 
cover and in the form of a small ice cream mould of 
conical shape. Any tinner can make it at small cost. — 
Palmer House ', Chicago, 



3° 



CAKE. 

Of the numberless cakes produced through the multi- 
ferous combinations of flour, sugar, fruits, raising powders 
or other ingredients, those only will be presented which 
lie within the skill of the accomplished housekeeper. 
Ornamentation and decoration of fine cakes will be but 
lightly touched upon ; it is a part, however, which pre- 
sents an opportunity for the display of much taste and 
skill on the part of the operator. 

Preliminary Matters to Observe in Cake Making — 
Clean hands and nails thoroughly with a brush. Clean 
all utensils and the kitchen table very thoroughly, and 
have everything necessary in readiness. If the weather 
is warm place the eggs in a cold place, as they will beat 
stiffer and lighter ; examine each thoroughly to ascertain 
if they are sound and fresh. Prepare the tins before the 
cake is made, greasing with lard, and line the bottom 
with several thicknesses of paper, the top one well 
greased ; it will do harm to also line the sides. 

All flour and sugar used is to be sifted and weighed. 
Very hard butter should be warmed a little, but not 
melted. If quite salt or packed butter, freshen in cold 
water, breaking it into bits. None but "good butter" 
should ever be used, and if beaten to a cream it saves 
warming. In using milk observe that with sour milk soda 
alone is necessary, but with sweet milk soda and cream 
of tartar or baking powder is used ; the first makes a 
spongy, light cake, and the last one like pound cake. 



3i 



For all white and delicate cakes use powdered sugar; 
for rich cakes, plum cake, crushed loaf, powdered and 
sifted; for dark cakes, the best brown sugar, and for 
jelly cakes, light fruit cakes, " A" coffee or granulated. 

New flour in either bread or cake making, or for pastry, 
may be improved, i. e. y some of its moisture evaporated 
— -by placing in the sun or before the fire the quantity to 
be used. When using " New Process " flour recollect 
it requires less by one-eighth than any other brand. 

Most good cake makers first stir the milk and flavor- 
ing into the creamed butter and sugar, then the yelks, 
next the whites and last the flour, after first mixing with 
two-thirds of it the baking powder, leaving the remain- 
der to be used at discretion. 

A cup always means a tea-cup and not a coffee-cup. 

Raisins should not be washed ; to remove all dirt, stems, 
etc., rub them in a cloth and then carefully pick them 
over ; if washed, it is difficult to dry them, so they will 
not make the cake heavy. Raisins or other fruit should 
be added the last thing before the cake is baked. Grate 
only the outer or yellow rind of lemons or oranges ; the 
white or inner peel contains none of the required flavor, 
but, on the contrary, is bitter. A reliable baking powder 
may be used in all cases where soda and cream of tartar 
is mentioned, using the same quantity given for the two 
together. The proportions to use of baking powder is 
generally three teaspoons to a quart of flour, or one of 
soda and two of cream of tartar. 

Do not stir, but beat cake batter, beating upward and 
very thoroughly ; beat with a wooden spoon ; iron will 
turn the batter dark, and for same reason always use an 
earthen or stoneware vessel to beat it in. 



3 2 



The proper heating of the oven is of great importance, 
especially for large cakes ; if not very hot the batter will 
not rise. If the oven be too quick, and there is danger 
of burning, put a sheet of clean white paper over the 
top. 

To ascertain when a cake is properly done stick a 
knife or knitting needle to the center, withdraw it 
quickly, and if it looks at all sticky it is not and must be 
returned. 

It is better to keep cake m a closed tin cake-box or 
covered jar, and always in a dry place. 

Coldwater Pound Cake— Half cup butter, two of sugar, 
three eggs, one cup cold water, three pounds flour, one 
teaspoon cream tartar, one-half teaspoon soda. 

Cocoanut Cookies —One cup sugar, half cup butter, one 
egg, two tablespoons milk, one and a half teaspoons 
baking powder, a little salt, one cup desiccated or 
grated cocoanut, enough flour to roll. 

Delicious Cake — One cup sugar, half cup butter, two 
eggs — the yelks and w T hites separately beaten — half a cup 
milk, one cup and a-half flour, and one and a-half tea- 
spoons baking powder. 

French Chocolate Cake— The whites of seven eggs, 
two cups sugar, two-thirds cup butter, one of milk and 
three of flour, three teaspoons baking powder ; the 
chocolate part of the cake is made the same as the 
above, only use yelks of the eggs and one cup 
grated chocolate ; bake it in layers, and spread a 
custard between them, which is made with two eggs, 
one pint milk, one-half cup sugar, one table-spoon 
corn-starch, and one teaspoon extract vanilla. 



Jumbles — Two cups sugar, one of butter, three eggs, 
one-third cup of milk, one and a-half teaspoons baking 
powder, and flour enough to roll. 

Leinon Cake- One and a-half cups sugar, half cup 
butter, three eggs, half teaspoon soda dissolved in half 
cup of milk, two heaping cups sifted flour, a little salt, and 
the grated peel and juice of one lemon ; bake in two 
shallow pans, and cut into squares. 

Lemon Snaps — One cup sugar, one-half cup butter, two 
eggs, one teaspoon essence lemon, a quarter teaspoon 
soda dissolved in a teaspoon of milk, flour enough to 
make very stiff, and roll very thin. 

Marble Cake -For the White Fart— Half cup butter, 
one and a-half cups white sugar, half a cup sweet milk, 
two and a half pounds flour, a quarter teaspoon soda, 
the whites of four eggs ; flavor with lemon. 

For the Dark Part — Half cup butter, the same of 
molasses, two of brown sugar, half cup sour milk, half 
teaspoon soda, yelks of four eggs, and one whole egg, 
two cups of flour, spices to taste ; after each part is 
thoroughly mixed, butter the pans well and put in first a 
couple of large spoons of the dark, and then the same of 
white part, alternately, until all is used. 

Molasses (xingrerbread— One large cup molasses, one 
tablespoon lard, one cup sour milk, a dessert spoon 
soda, one tablespoon ginger, and flour to make a very 
stiff paste. 

Neapolitaines — One pound of flour, half pound of 
powdered sugar, half pound of butter, six eggs, six yelks, 
quarter ounce of rose or orange blossom water ; mix the 
flour, sugar, butter and eggs together with the perfume ; 
if too stiff, add a little milk ; leave the dough half an 



34 



hour in a cool place ; roll it out a quarter of an inch 
thick, and cut it with a small tin cutter of any shape ; 
put the cakes on a pan slightly greased, and color the 
tops with beaten egg and milk, with some chopped 
almonds over them ; cook in a very hot oven. — Fernand 
Fere, Chef de Cuisine, Astor House, New York. 

Spice Cake— One cup sugar, a piece of butter the size 
of an egg, one egg, one cup sour milk, one teaspoon 
soda ; spice to taste, and flour enough to make a thick 
batter. 

Sponge Cake— The desirable feature of good sponge 
cake is its lightness, which is only attained by long-con- 
tinued hard beating ; to do this well requires two persons. 
While one beats the yelk for fifteen to twenty minutes, 
as light and creamy as possible, and then beats in three- 
quarters of a pound of sugar with rose water until thick 
and light, another person should beat the whites until 
well frothed, but do not whiten, then slowly beat into 
them the remaining quarter pound of sugar, and whisk 
until it no longer stiffens, or until the former preparation 
is complete. Now, lightly and steadily add the last mix- 
ture and the flour with the first, a little of each alter- 
nately, stirring only enough to mix them well, avoiding 
hard beating, which would toughen the whole. The 
buttered pans should be ready, and whether round, 
square or patty pans, fill them half to two-thirds full ; 
sift sugar over them, and bake in a moderate oven. 
Material : Ten ounces of sifted pastry flour, a pound 
powdered sugar, twelve eggs, two tablespoons rose 
water, or other flavors may be used, as almonds, using 
an ounce blanched bitter almonds; lemon, use the 
grated rind and juice of two large lemons, mixed and 



35 



strained after standing an hour ; vanilla, use a table- 
spoon of vanilla sugar, beat in with the yelks at 
first — the two others mix with the sugar. The cake 
may be iced with rose icing or with almond, orange- 
flower, lemon or vanilla icing. This is a very useful 
cake in the formation of the different Charlottes, jelly 
cakes, lady-fingers, or in small round cup cakes. 

Sponge Cake— Two cups sugar, five eggs, two-thirds 
cup boiling water, two and a half cups flour, two tea- 
spoons baking powder; beat the yelks of the eggs 
thin ; add the sugar ; when well beaten together add 
the boiling water, then the whites which have been 
beaten to a stiff froth, and lastly the flour and baking 
powder ; flavor with lemon or vanilla. 

Cream Frosting —A cup of sweet cream whipped and 
flavored with vanilla, cut a loaf of cake in two, spread 
the frosting between and on the top ; this tastes like 
Charlotte Russe. 

Hard or Plain Icing for Cake — Break the whites of 
four eggs into a large platter, in a cool room, or in 
summer set it on ice ; whisk them until they foam, but 
do not whiten; then sift in the sugar slowly, beating 
steadily from the bottom, so as to bring up every drop 
at each sweep of the whip, and continue until as white 
and fine as snow and can be cut with a knife. 

If the whites do not froth, throw in a pinch of alum 
or soda; sometimes they may require a little more 
sugar, but the average is four ounces to the white of 
a full-sized egg. This is a plain icing. All icings * 
should be applied in two coats; let the first one dry 
before putting on the second, which can be sufficiently 
thinned with water to work smooth. If any ornaments 



36 



are used; they must be put on while the second icing 
is still moist. The flavors mostly used are almond, 
chocolate, lemon, orange, rose or vanilla. 

A Soft Icing — Is preferable to hard for some kinds 
of cake. Mix half a pound of finely pulverized and 
sifted sugar with a tablespoon boiling water, and the 
same of any fruit juices fancied ; spread at once on 
the cake while yet warm, about an eighth of an inch 
thick ; color if desired. 




37 



PUDDINGS AND PASTRY. 

Note— Upon the production of puddings a and pastry, 
covering fruit pies, tarts and tartlets, the following gen- 
eral remarks are given. Most of those on cake making 
will also apply here. 

PUDDINGS. 

Note — The freshness of all the ingredients for pud- 
dings is very essential, as one bad or poor article will 
taint the whole. When eggs are of doubtful freshness, 
break each one separately in a cup before mixing them ; 
a bad one will not then destroy those that preceded it. 
By beating the yelks and whites separately, the articles 
to which they are added will be the lighter. 

Raisins and dried fruits for puddings should be care- 
fully picked over, in most cases stoned, and large ones 
chopped. Currants should be well washed, pressed in a 
cloth, and then thoroughly dried before the fire, and 
after which be well picked over. English currants are 
usually quite gritty ; they may be made to " plump " or 
fill out by pouring over them boiling water, and then 
dried. 

Batter pudding should be smoothly mixed, entirely 
free from lumps ; to cause which, first mix the flour with 
a very small part of the milk, and add the remainder 
gradually ; should it then prove lumpy, it may be rubbed 
through a hair sieve. 



38 



Boiled puddings should be put on in boiling water, 
which must not be allowed to stop at least simmering; 
it should always be covered with the water, more being 
added if necessary. In dishing it, as soon as it comes 
out of the kettle dip it in a pan of cold water, and the 
cloth will not stick to it. It is better to have them sus- 
pended in the kettle ; the cloth will not then adhere to 
the bottom. The pudding cloth or bag should be kept 
scrupulously clean, but washed without soap, or they 
will impart a very disagreeable flavor to the puddings. 
Before using, dip in hot water and dredge it slightly with 
flour. 

All puddings should be expeditiously served, as by 
standing they quickly become heavy, particularly batter 
puddings. When baked puddings are sufficiently solid 
to do so, turn them out of the baking-dish to a platter, 
bottom up, and powder with fine sugar. 

Apple Pudding 1 — One quart milk, three eggs, three tea- 
spoons baking-powder, two spoonsful melted butter, 
flour to make a batter like griddle cakes ; fill a pan half 
full of sliced apples, and pour the batter over them ; bake 
two hours, and eat with a sweet sauce. 

Apple Holey Foley — Peel, core and slice sour apples ; 
make a rich biscuit dough, or raised biscuit dough may 
be used if rolled thinner ; roll half an inch thick, lay the 
slices on the paste, roll up, tuck in the ends, prick deeply 
with a fork, lay it in a steamer and steam hard for an 
hour and three-quarters. Or, wrap it in a pudding- 
cloth, tie the ends, baste up the sides, and boil contin- 
ually an hour and a-half, perhaps more. Stoned cher- 
ries, dried fruits, or any kind of berries, fresh or dried, 
may be used. 



39 



Cabinet Pudding— Spread the inside of a plain mould 
with butter, and ornament the sides with dried cherries 
and candied citron ; fill the mould with alternate layers 
of slices of sponge-cakes, and ratafia of macaroni. Then 
fill up the mould with a lemon custard made with eight 
yelks of eggs, a pint of milk or cream, six ounces of 
sugar, a glass of brandy and the grated rind of a lemon. 
This custard must not be set, but merely mixed up. 
Steam the pudding in the usual way for about an hour 
and a-half, and when done dish it up, either with arrow- 
root sauce or a custard. — Sebastien Michel \ Chef de Cuis- 
ine. Hotel Brunswick. 

Corn Starch Blanc Mange— Take one quart sweet milk, 
and put one pint upon the stove to heat ; in the other 
pint mix four heaping tablespoons corn starch ; when 
the milk is hot, pour in the cold milk with the corn 
starch thoroughly mixed in it, and stir all together until 
there are no lumps and it is thick ; flavor with lemon ; 
take from the stove, and add the whites of three eggs 
beaten to a stiff froth. 

A Custard for the Above — One pint milk boiled with 
a little salt in it; beat the yelks of three eggs with half a 
cup of sugar, and add to the boiling milk ; stir well, but 
do not let it boil till the eggs are put in. 

English Plum Pudding— Beat six yelks and four whites 
of eggs very light, add to them a tumbler of sweet milk, 
stir in gradually a quarter pound grated stale bread, a 
pound of flour, three-quarters of sugar, and a pound 
each of beef suet chopped fine, currants nicely washed 
and dried, and stoned raisins well floured ; stir well and 
add two nutmegs, a tablespoon mace, one of cinnamon 
or cloves, a wine glass brandy, a teaspoonful salt, and, 



4o 



finally, another tumbler milk ; boil in bowls or moulds 
five hours, and serve with a sauce made with drawn but- 
ter, wine, sugar and nutmeg. It will keep several 
months; when wanted, boil an hour before serving; a 
pound of citron or blanched sweet almonds will add to 
the richness of the pudding. 

Rice Pudding w'thout Eggs— Two quarts milk, two- 
thirds of a cup of rice, same of sugar, and a small piece 
of butter and a little salt ; stir it occasionally until boil- 
ing hot, and cook in a slow oven until of the consistency 
of cream. 

A Cheap but Delicious Rice Pudding— One cup rice, 

well washed, two quarts new milk, a pinch of salt, with 
sugar and flavoring to taste ; grate nutmeg over it, and 
bake in a slow oven four or five hours. This will prove 
a most delicious pudding, to-be eaten either hot or cold, 
and if baked slowly is better than with the use of eggs. 

Rice Meringue Pudding— Put a teacup of rice in a pint 
of water. When the water is boiled away, add a pint of 
milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg ; the yelks of 
three eggs, and the grated rind of one lemon ; mix well ; 
pour into a pudding dish ; spread over the top the whites 
of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth with a tea cup of sugar ; 
set in the oven and brown a little. 

Plain Fruit Pudding— Take one and a-half cups of 
flour, one cup of bread crumbs, one cup of raisins, 
half a cup of currants, two nutmegs, one cup of suet 
chopped fine, two tablespoons of sugar, four eggs, a 
wine glass of brandy, a wine glass of syrup, and a little 
milk if necessary. Mix very thoroughly ; tie it in a 
cloth as tight as possible, and boil fast for five or six 
hours. Serve with wine sauce. 



4i 

Snow Pudding — One-half a package of Cox's gela- 
tine ; pour over it a cup of cold water, and add one 
and a half cups sugar ; when soft, add one cup boiling 
water and the juice of one lemon ; then the whites of 
four well beaten eggs ; beat all together until it is light 
and frothy, or until the gelatine will not settle clear in 
the bottom of the dish after standing a few minutes ; 
put it on a glass dish, and serve with a custard made 
of one pint milk, the yelks of the four eggs, and the 
grated rind of a lemon ; boil. 

Suet Pudding" — Four cups flour, one cup molasses, one 
cup suet chopped fine, half-pound raisins, three-quarters 
of a cup milk, half teaspoon soda, and a little salt and 
cinnamon; boil two hours and a half. To be eaten 
with sauce. 

Sweet Pudding — Four cups flour, one of molasses, one 
of suet finely chopped, half-pound raisins, three-quar- 
ters of a cup of milk, half a teaspoon soda, and a little 
cinnamon; boil two hours and a half; serve with 
sauce. 

PASTRY. 

The flour should be the best wheaten flour and per- 
fectly dry, the best brands of Sidle, Fletcher, Holmes 
Co. being held in especial favor by the most noted pastry 
cooks of the Eastern and Northern States. Always keep 
flour in a perfectly dry place. 

The butter, unless fresh is used, should be washed 
from the salt and well squeezed or wrung in a cloth to 
get out all the water or buttermilk ; if left in it will 
produce heavy paste. 



42 



Lard should be perfectly sweet and white. It may be 
tested by running a knife or steel into ; if, on withdraw- 
ing, it smells sweet, it is good. 

Suet should be finely chopped, perfectly sweet and 
free from skin-like tissue ; when chopped, dredge with 
flour, which prevents the particles adhering to each 
other. Beef suet is the best, but that of veal, or the 
outside fat of a loin or neck of mutton, makes good 
shortening, or the skimmings from boiled mutton, but only 
that without vegetables. Clarified beef drippings also 
make good crusts for ordinary puddings, pies or cakes ; 
it should, however, be used sparingly. 

The art of preparing paste requires much practice and 
dexterity ; it should be touched as lightly as possible, 
made with cool hands and in a cool place, and for same 
reason a marble slab is better than^a board to knead or 
roll upon, using .a well-floured rolling-pin of hard wood. 
In mixing, add the water (ice water is best in summer) ; 
very gradually work the whole together with the blade 
of a knife. The butter or other shortening should be 
cold and rather hard ; to make it so put in cold water 
until about ready for it, when squeeze as before directed, 
break it in small bits, roll out the paste and cover with 
the bits of butter; fold over each end and roll out very 
thin again, repeating until all is used. To produce light 
pastes considerable expedition should be used both in 
making and baking ; if it stands long before putting in 
the oven it will become flat and heavy. 

In baking custard, pumpkin or squash pies, that the 
mixture may not be absorbed by the paste, it is better to 
partly bake the crust before adding it. 

The pie tins, patty pans or dishes for baked puddings 



43 



should be well greased, ready for use, sweet lard being 
as good or preferable to butter ; crusts to be baked in 
sheets should be placed on buttered paper. 

Oven — Very important is the state of the oven ; if a 
paste be skillfully compounded with the best materials, 
and not properly baked, all is lost. Some require a 
quick oven, as puff-paste ; others a warm and moderate 
one, and some a slow one. By placing a hand in the 
oven its heat may be determined very nearly. In baking 
a puff-paste try a small piece of the paste first. 

Puff- Paste — One full pound sifted superfine flour, one 
of washed butter, pressed free from moisture in a clean 
cloth ; place the flour on the mixing board or marble 
slab ; make a well in the center, into which squeeze the 
juice of half a lemon, and put in the yelk of an egg, 
beaten with a little ice-water; stir with one hand and 
drop in ice-water with the other until the paste is hard 
as the butter ; roll out the paste in a smooth square an 
inch thick ; smooth the sides with a rolling-pin and 
spread the butter over half the paste ; lay the other half 
over it, and leave it for fifteen minutes in a cold place * 
then roll out in a long strip, keeping the edges smooth, 
and double it in three parts, thus : lap one-third over the 
middle, roll it down, then fold over the opposite third, 
and roll all out in a long strip again ; repeat the folding, 
rolling across this time ; let it lie fifteen minutes, and 
repeat six times, allowing fifteen minutes between each 
rolling to cool, or the butter will oil ; the paste is now 
ready for use. The result will repay the trouble by 
being both light and flaky. The quantity of water 
depends on the [ capacity of the flour to absorb it. 
Handle as little as possible throughout the whole pro- 



44 



cess. Rich pastes such as the above require a quick 
oven. 

Patties or Shells for Tarts— Roll out a nice puff paste 
thin ; cut out with a glass or cookie cutter, and with a 
wine glass or smaller cutter cut out the center of two 
out of three ; lay the rings thus made on the third, and 
bake at once. May be used for veal or oyster patties, or 
filled with any jelly, jam or preserves, as tarts. 

Apple Custard Pie — Stew sour apples until soft and not 
much water is left in them, and rub through a colander ; 
beat three eggs for each pie, and use one cup butter and 
one of flour for three pies ; nutmeg seasoning. 

Apple Tarts — Pare, quarter, core and boil in half a cup 
water until quite soft ten large, tart apples ; beat until 
very smooth and add the yelks of six eggs or three 
whole ones, the juice and grated outside rind of two 
lemons, half a cup of butter, one and a-half of sugar (or 
more if not sufficiently sweet ; ) beat all thoroughly, line 
patty pans with a puff paste and fill ; bake five minutes 
in a hot oven. 

Meringue — If desired very nice, cover them when 
removed from the oven with a meringue made of the 
whites of the three eggs j-emaining, mixed with three 
tablespoons sugar; return to the oven and delicately 
brown. 

Cream Pie — Thoroughly beat together half a cup sugar, 
the white of one egg and tablespoon flour ; then add a 
cup of rich milk, or use part cream ; bake with only an 
undercrust, and grate nutmeg over it. 

Date Pie — One pound of dates makes three pies ; soak 
them over night, then stew them until soft enough to 



45 



strain ; add one quart milk, three eggs, a little nutmeg 
and salt ; bake without an upper crust. 

Lemon Pie — Grate the yellow rind and take the juice 
of one lemon, one cup sugar ; take a heaping tablespoon 
of corn-starch and mix it with cold water ; add a cup of 
boiling water, and cook a little ; turn together ; beat the 
yelk of one egg, and add to the mixture ; beat the whites 
of two eggs to a froth with a little sugar, and put over the 
top after the pie is baked, and set in the oven to slightly 
brown. 

Lemon Pie— Into one quart boiling molasses put one- 
half cup water, the grated rind and juice of six lemons, 
one large spoonful corn-starch, and two beaten eggs. 
This will fill three pies. 

Mince Meat — Use two bowls chopped apples, one of 
chopped meat, one-fourth pound chopped suet, the 
grated rind and juice of one lemon, two tea cups molasses, 
one large teaspoon each of cinnamon and cloves, one 
nutmeg grated fine, one pound stoned or seedless raisins, 
half pound currants, one-fourth pound citron cut fine, 
one quart cider, and sugar and salt to taste. 

Mock Mince Pie— Twelve crackers rolled fine, one cup 
hot water, half cup of vinegar, one cup each of sugar, 
currants and raisins ; any spices to taste. This makes 
four pies. 

Pumpkin Pie— For three pies : one quart milk, three 
cups of boiled and strained pumpkin, one, and a-half 
cups sugar, one-half cup molasses, four eggs, a little 
salt, and one teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon. 
Boston marrow or Hubbard squash may be substituted 
for pumpkin, and are much preferred by many, as possess- 
ing a less strong flavor. 



List of general Jlgents 



FOR SALE OF THE FLOUR 

MANUFACTURED BY 

Sidle*Fletcher*Hqlmes 

COMPANY, 

Minneapolis ]YEinn. 



WM. M. BARBER, 55 Kilby St., Boston, Mass. 
A. A. KEENE, 1913 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
GRENVILLE PERRIN, 21 & 22 State St., New York. 
ALEXANDER MANN, 401 S. Division St., Buffalo, N.Y. 
GLOVER & ODENDAHL, New Orleans, Louisiana. 



E call your particular attention to the 
fact, that the Flour manufactured 
at the North Western or Zenith Mills 
by the renowned Roller Granulated 
process is warranted equal to the best in 
the world. Manufactured from Minn- 
esota and Dakota hard wheat. 

The superior strength of Flour made 
from it will yield from 50 to 65 pounds 
more bread to the barrel than winter wheat 
flour. It requires more moisture in mix- 
ing, is much more nutritious and healthy, 
and bread made from it will keep sweet and 
moist for several days. 

Minnesota and Dakota Wheat, contains 
the largest amount of Gluten of any grown 
in the world. 

All authorities agree that the element of 
Gluten in flour, is of the highest import- 
ance in determining its value for human 
food. 




Conservation Resources 
Lig-Free® Type I 
Ph 8.5, Buffered 



